St. Thomas Apostle, home of Sunday EF Vespers, to offer Missa Cantata for Ascension

A Sung Mass will be offered for the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord at 7:00 am this Thursday morning, May 5, at Washington’s St. Thomas Apostle Church. While Ascension Thursday is not a holy day of obligation in the Archdiocese of Washington, it is still observed on its traditional date in the Extraordinary Form.

Every Sunday at 4:00 pm, the office of Vespers is celebrated at St. Thomas Apostle by the Oratorian Community of St. Philip Neri according to the 1961 Roman Breviary. The service, sung entirely in Gregorian chant, is one of the few weekly public celebrations of the traditional Office on the Eastern Seaboard. Everyone interested in participating is encouraged to assist in the preparation of the music beginning at 3:30 pm. After Vespers, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed briefly for adoration and Benediction.

St. Thomas Apostle Church is located at 2665 Woodley Road in Woodley Park, one block up from the Woodley Road Metrorail and Metrobus stops at Connecticut Avenue.